Some Ontario County inmates waiting more than 6 months for case resolution

Julie Sherwood

Friday

Aug 24, 2007 at 12:01 AMAug 24, 2007 at 2:36 PM

Some of people behind bars at the Ontario County Jail have been there for more than six months without a resolution to their case.

The number of inmates waiting long periods in Ontario County Jail for their cases to be resolved has caught the attention of county officials.

A report last month showed that the 276-bed jail had 20 inmates whose cases had been pending more than six months. One had been there more than a year — "the longest time anyone has remained in jail without their case being resolved," Alice Haskins, chief corrections officer, told a county committee. The inmates are in jail on felony charges.

According to state guidelines, criminal cases should be concluded within six months of a felony indictment.

The statistics raised concerns with the county Public Safety Committee. "Who is dropping the ball, I don't know," said Supervisor Mary Green, R-Hopewell, committee chairwoman and a retired state trooper. "But I want a resolution now."

Those inmates who eventually will be sentenced to incarceration will have their pre-sentencing jail time knocked off their sentence. However, earlier this week, Ontario County Sheriff Phil Povero said inmates waiting long periods for their cases to be resolved are more likely to be disruptive. "As they sit, they become more frustrated and sometimes violent," said Povero. That can put the safety of corrections officers at risk, he said.

Pending cases also put a strain on jail space, with those inmates costing the county money and taking up beds that could be used by sentenced inmates — or imported inmates who bring in money for the county. The county receives $85 a day to house inmates from other counties; $80 a day to house federal prisoners.

Ontario County Administrator Geoff Astles said the county's four-year-old, $28 million jail is filled almost to capacity. On Thursday, the jail had 235 beds occupied and wasn't able to take more male inmates, said Haskins.

For the first six months of 2007, the jail had an average of 224 beds occupied; 130, or 58 percent, of those were used by inmates whose cases were pending. "We are paying millions to house them," said Astles.

Ontario isn't the only county with a backlog. For example, the 190-bed Wayne County Jail had an average daily count of 134 inmates during the first six months of the year. Of those, 93 inmates, or 69 percent, had pending cases. Ten had been there more than six months.

Astles said it could cost Ontario County as much as $10 million to add a wing to house more inmates. Taxpayers would also have to ante up for the operational costs of hiring more jail staff and other expenses. Expanding the jail for inmates with pending cases would be "bad economics, bad financing," he said.

"Yes, it's a concern with people spending months in jail without their case being adjudicated," Ontario County District Attorney R. Michael Tantillo said Wednesday.
The Public Safety Committee asked for Tantillo's feedback on the matter at its July meeting. Tantillo explained that the district attorney must be ready for trial within six months on a felony case, which means the defendant must be indicted. Then it is announced to the court that the district attorney is ready to try the case. After that, the defendant can continue to make motions, change lawyers and so forth, which causes further delays in bringing the cases to trial.

Tantillo told the committee the state Office of Court Administration is aware of the delay of some judicial proceedings.

Astles wrote to the administrative judge for the eight-county district on Aug. 3. "We are asking you to resolve the issue of prolonged pretrial detention of some accused citizens," he wrote to Judge Thomas Van Strydonck of the Seventh Judicial District.

"The matter is also a serious concern for our district attorney and sheriff."

In an Aug. 13 reply, Van Strydonck said he was aware of the problem and "will try to assure that the defendants who are unable to post bail have their cases tried as quickly as possible."

He went on to cite the county's "failure to provide adequate courtroom space." It has "impacted my ability to assign one or more Supreme Court justices to try additional cases in Ontario County," he stated. "With only two courtrooms available for criminal jury trials, we lack the ability to support scheduling more criminal trials in the courthouse."

"This has been a concern of mine for several years, however, we have yet to see a viable plan to remedy the situation," he concluded.

Astles said Tuesday he and Van Strydonck are meeting soon to discuss the matter.
"He needs to hear what we are planning to do," said Astles.

County officials have discussed for several years plans to renovate the old jail building at 74 Ontario St. and reconfigure office space in the Ontario County Court House to make room for a third courtroom for jury trials. The project is part of a larger capital-improvement plan estimated to cost about $14 million that involves the renovations already underway at the 911 center at 74 Ontario St. and renovations to buildings in the Hopewell county complex. The project is being done in stages, and it could take at least one-to-two years to create a third courtroom, said Astles, since the county is committed to a practice "of not going into debt on capital projects."

Meanwhile, the county's three sitting judges weighed in on the issue. Statistics from 2007 show most criminal cases pending more than six months involve Judge Frederick Reed's court. As of Wednesday, there were 64 criminal cases pending in county court; all 15 of those pending longer than six months were assigned to Reed.

Returning a phone message while on vacation, Reed offered some explanations and plans to fix the situation.

Reed said a number of factors contribute to delays in pending cases. They include conflicts of interest among attorneys, illness, and unavailability of witnesses and other experts needed for trail.

Reed noted the court has experienced a spike in felony cases. County records show the number of felony cases rose nearly 30 percent from 2005 to 2006, rising from 359 to 457.

Reed said it's a trend that appears to "have no let up."

"It's a radical, dramatic spike. We didn't get there overnight, and the solution won't come overnight." said Reed. He plans to meet with his fellow judges, he said, and is "confidant we can aggressively manage the increased caseload."

Reed said he has also taken steps to devote more time to felony cases. "I have directed my court staff to block out 20 weeks for trial terms in 2008," he said. That is nearly twice the amount of time that was allotted previously for handling both civil and criminal court cases, said Reed.

Judges Craig Doran and William Kocher offered their take on the situation in a conference call. "As a judge, my priority is to make sure justice is done for the defendant and also the people, of course," said Doran. He added he works to move cases along in "an expeditious fashion."

"I take that very seriously," he said.

Doran added that while some issues in the court system are out of a judge's hands, "we need to get a case in and out of here in a six-month period."

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